“There might be compelling national security concerns about TikTok,” says Zamaan Qureshi, the 22-year-old co-chair of a youth advocacy coalition called Design It For Us. “But when we are getting into this debate, there are far more powerful and necessary regulations that Congress can provide to actually create a social media ecosystem that works for us.”

As a young person who cares deeply about the online safety of my peers, I am hoping that our congressional leaders will step up before the end of the year to protect my generation online.

Arielle Geismar, co-chair of the youth Internet safety advocacy group Design It For Us, says that young people are being used as “guinea pigs for these technologies.”

Facebook whistleblower Arturo Béjar and youth activist Sneha Revanur ’26 delved into the impact of social media on young adults’ mental health.

On September 5th, 2024, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez added to ongoing legal scrutiny of Big Tech firms by filing a lawsuit against Snap Inc., the parent company of Snapchat, alleging that the company systemically failed to protect children from sextortion, sexual exploitation, and harm. 

The Campus Y hosted a discussion last week with Design It For Us, an advocacy coalition that promotes youth involvement in the design of online spaces.

Design It For Us, a youth-led coalition aiming to improve online privacy, hosted a panel Sept. 11 in the Mary Graydon Center with experts who are focused on addressing just that — what the daily “I agree,” “yes” and “allow” really mean for young people. 

Some of the senators who had spoken earlier also made remarks at the rally, as did the attorney general of New Mexico, the Facebook whistle-blower Arturo Béjar, and a youth activist named Zamaan Qureshi, who announced that a “coalition of young people” was determined “to take back control of our lives from social-media companies.” Arielle Geismar, George Washington University’s student-body president at the time, said, “We were forced to play a dopamine slot machine at the expense of our life.”

Arielle Geismar, co-chair of the youth-led Design It For Us campaign, said that the White House bringing these companies to the table is a step in the right direction. “Frankly, I would have loved to see them come to the conclusion by themselves, but I think it’s pretty clear that these tech companies are not quite able to regulate themselves,” she said.

A youth advocacy group for safer online practices is pushing for tougher restrictions on social media platforms after a House committee last week approved a watered-down version of a kids’ online safety measure.

“To the student advocates, like Design It For Us, who have urged us to move this forward, thank you for sharing your experiences and urging Congress to act.”

A Conversation with “Design it for Us” Leaders Zamaan Qureshi and Arielle Geismar